Migration Watch UK
October 08, 2024
The UK population is estimated to have risen by 1.0% in the year to June 2023, the largest annual percentage increase since comparable data began in 1971. Responding, Migration Watch UK Chairman Alp Mehmet said:
This is no surprise. It was inevitable given net migration of 745,000 in 2022 and 685,000 in 2023. Net migration of 600,000 is projected to lead to an increase in our population of 20 million people by mid to late 2040s. That’s the equivalent of 18 cities the size of Birmingham. This will make much worse the crises we are already experiencing with housing, the health and care sector and schools. It also doesn’t bode well for the future cohesion and stability of our society. The government’s seeming indifference and reluctance to face up to the issue of greatest concern to the public is appalling.
The UK population was estimated at 68,265,200 in mid-2023, an increase of 662,400 from 67,602,800 the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This 1.0% rise follows a 0.9% increase in the year to mid-2022, resulting in a total growth of 1.28 million over the past two years. The rise of 662,400 in the 12 months to June 2023 marks the largest annual population increase since records began in 1971. The ONS attributes net international migration as the primary factor for this growth across all four countries of the UK.